The present disclosure relates generally to porous materials, and more particularly to modified porous materials and method(s) of forming the same.
Porous materials are widely used in biomedical, industrial, and household applications. In the biomedical field, porous materials have been used as scaffolds (templates) for tissue engineering/regeneration, wound dressings, drug release matrices, membranes for separations and filtration, sterile filters, artificial kidneys, absorbents, hemostatic devices, and the like. In various industrial and household applications, porous materials have been used as insulating materials, packaging materials, impact absorbers, liquid or gas absorbents, membranes, filters and so forth.
However, many porous materials may be useful in only certain limited environments. For example, porous polymer materials may be used as scaffolds for cell incorporation, proliferation and tissue regeneration in aqueous environments (such as in a tissue culture medium, in a bioreactor, or implanted inside a human or animal body). Yet, such a polymer often cannot be used for other applications that involve the use of certain organic solvents that dissolve or significantly change the physical form and properties of the polymer. Similarly, a porous material made of a water-soluble polymer, natural macromolecule, or inorganic compound may work well in air, an organic solvent, or certain solutions; yet, it may not maintain its structure and function in an aqueous environment because it dissolves or seriously deforms in water or aqueous solutions. Many porous metallic materials (pure metals or alloys) may also deleteriously dissolve in, rust in, or react with certain aqueous or organic solvents, which may lead to a variety of problems.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide porous materials which may be used in varied predetermined environments.